Mobile phone maker Nokia has posted better-than-expected profits for the first three months of 2011, down 1% to 344m euros (�304m).
But its market share fell 4% to 29% as cheaper rivals and the popularity of competitors' smartphones ate into Nokia's dominance.
Nokia also said that it had struck a long-awaited deal to develop smartphone technology with Microsoft.
Investors welcomed the news, sending Nokia shares up almost 3%.
Stephen Elop, chief executive, said: "In the first quarter, we shifted from defining our strategy to executing our strategy. On this front, I am pleased to report that we signed our definitive agreement with Microsoft and already our product design and engineering work is well underway."
The Finnish comany's slow response to the smartphone threat from Apple's iPhone and the Blackberry handsets has been one of investors' key concerns.
On Wednesday Apple unveiled a 95% rise in first-quarter profits, and said it sold a record 18.65 million iPhones during the quarter.
Under the Microsoft deal Nokia will start using the US company's software on its smartphones instead of its own Symbian platform.
Nokia said the deal will enable it to cut annual costs by around 1bn euros.
Nokia's group sales rose by 9% to 10.40bn euros, while smartphone sales were up 6% at 7bn euros.
The company's key phone unit reported an operating profit margin of 9.8% for the January-March period, well ahead of analysts forecast of 8.6%.
However, Nokia said that for the full year, margins would fall to within a 6%-9% range.
"Finalisation of the agreement with Microsoft means Nokia can now focus on execution, but margin guidance underlines that difficult times lie ahead as it transitions the portfolio," said analyst Geoff Blaber from CCS Insight.
Despite the drop in Nokia's market share - the first time in a decade it has fallen below 30% - Sami Sarkamies, analyst at Nordea, said: "The first quarter was very strong, much better than expected.
"It seems the situation is under control, there were no dramatic changes," he added.
Latest profits for the computer giant Apple beat hopes, including a higher-than-expected rise in iPhone sales.
Net income for the three months to March jumped 85% on the same period a year ago, with iPhone sales of 18.65m - a rise of 113%.
The figures are the latest in a string of good results from the US's technology companies.
Intel's figures, released on Wednesday, were also well above hopes and helped share prices to a three-year high.
Apple reported quarterly net profits of $5.99bn (�3.6bn), 95% up on the $3bn it made a year ago. Revenue was $24.67bn, a rise of 83%.
Sales of the company's computers were strongly higher, up by 28% from a year ago driven by its tweaked MacBook Pro.
Apple's figures were not uniformly positive. It sold 4.69m iPad tablet computers in the quarter, below expectations.
Another disappointment was sales of its one-time star, the iPod, down by 17% on the year at 9m units.
Most analysts were enthusiastic about the figures.
Channing Smith, portfolio manager at Capital Advisors growth fund, said: "Dynamite numbers across the board. The only hiccup is lower than expected iPad numbers."
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said in a statement: "With quarterly revenue growth of 83% and profit growth of 95% we're firing on all cylinders."
Mr Jobs, who went on medical leave in January with an undisclosed illness, continued: "We will continue to innovate on all fronts throughout the remainder of the year."
The day-to-day running of Apple is currently being done by chief operating officer Tim Cook.
Apple iPhones and 3G iPads are secretly recording and storing details of all their owners' movements, researchers claim.
Location data is kept in a hidden, unencrypted file according to security experts Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden.
With the right software, it can be used to map exactly where a person has been.
Apple has yet to comment on the revelation, however there in no suggestion that it has been uploading or using the information.
The findings, first reported by the Guardian newspaper, will come as a surprise to most iPhone users, as their devices do not give any visual indication that such data is being recorded.
However, although the practice is not explicitly flagged-up, it appears to be covered in the company's terms of use.
"We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used so that we can better understand customer behaviour and improve our products, services, and advertising"
Clearly intentional
Writing on the technology website O'Reilly Radar, Mr Allan and Mr Warden said they did not know why iPhones and iPads were collecting location information but it was "clearly intentional".
The men claim that the facility to record users' positions was added with the iOS4 software update, released in June 2010.
The data is also transferred to the owner's computer and stored in a file there each time the two devices are connected to carry-out a backup or synchronisation.
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at security firm Sophos, told BBC News that it was unlikely Apple planned to use the information for commercial purposes.
"I think there are some legitimate privacy concerns and people will probably look for a way of obscuring that data," he said.
"But it is an object lesson about reading the terms and conditions," he added.
The European Union is to investigate whether internet service providers (ISPs) are providing fair access to online services.
It may lead to new rules banning ISPs from restricting access to data-heavy services during peak periods.
ISPs argue that traffic management is key to maintaining a quality service.
However, the EU's annnouncement falls short of the demands of net-neutrality campaigners, who want all traffic to be treated equally.
The investigation will cover both mobile and fixed providers and will be published by the end of the year.
Announcing the action, the EU's commissioner for the digital agenda, Neelie Kroes, said: "I am absolutely determined that everyone in the EU should have the chance to enjoy the benefits of an open and lawful internet, without hidden restrictions or slower speeds than they have been promised.
"The Commission has asked the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (Berec) to undertake a rigorous fact-finding exercise on issues crucial to ensuring an open and neutral internet."
She added that the investigation will also ask businesses and consumers to highlight shortcomings, and if the findings indicate "outstanding problems" they will assess further measures.
Consumer choice
In her statement, Ms Kroes referred to a claim that an unnamed UK provider was reportedly making "Skype calls technically impossible in afternoons and evenings without warning the users."
She also pointed to reports that some internet providers were slowing video-streaming services provided by a competitor.
A consumer's experience is not affected if an e-mail reaches him a few seconds after it has been sent"
End QuoteNeelie KroesEuropean Union
"Mark my words," she said. "If measures to enhance competition are not enough to bring internet providers to offer real consumer choice, I'm ready to prohibit the blocking of lawful services or applications."
However, Ms Kroes said it was "widely accepted" that some services needed to be slowed down to allow others to work.
"A consumer's experience is not affected if an e-mail reaches him a few seconds after it has been sent, whereas a similar delay to a voice communication would cause it to be significantly degraded, if not rendered entirely useless."
She argued that consumer pressure and media scrutiny would mean providers blocking or charging extra for bandwidth-heavy services would soon lose custom.
Campaigner worry
Tuesday's announcement has left some campaigners for "net-neutrality" - the concept that access to all services on the internet should be treated equally - disappointed.
They had hoped for a firmer decision from the commission, and worry that without stricter measures ISPs may begin charging companies for unrestricted access to consumers.
This would, they argue, create a "two-tiered" internet, with big businesses offering faster access to consumers while smaller businesses suffer.
Advocates of net-neutrality insist a fair internet is vital to foster competition and innovation, and that policies to prevent such practices should be put in place sooner rather than later.
"The internet after all is about openness, choice and participation," said Monique Goyens, director general of the European Consumers' Organisation.
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Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee believes legislation may be needed to protect net neutrality
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"If ISPs misuse their control of internet traffic, then these essential qualities are lost.
"This race of technological advances is high-speed and, to remain fair, requires a referee. The EU needs take on this role while giving national regulatory authorities the means to do the same."
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the web, told the BBC that governments must act if the industry can not self-regulate.
He has been asked by the UK government to negotiate an agreement on an open internet between service providers and content firms like the BBC and Skype.
"If it fails, the government has to be absolutely ready to legislate," he said.
Almost half of British children aged 9 to 12 use social networking, ignoring minimum age limits, a report claims.
One in five has a Facebook page, a quarter of which are publicly viewable, according to EUKidsOnline.
The report's authors suggest that removing age requirements would make it easier to monitor young people's online activity.
However, children's charity Kidscape criticised the idea and warned it would lead to more cyber bullying.
The research, carried out by the London School of Economics for the European Commission, was based on a survey of 25,000 young people - aged between nine and 16 - from across Europe.
It asked if they maintained a social networking profile.
In the UK, 43% of 9 to 12-year-olds answered yes, along with 88% of 13 to 16-year-olds.
The Netherlands had the highest percentage of children on social networks at 70% - however many of these were users of Hyves, a site that does not have a minimum age.
Across Europe the average figure for 9 to 12-year-olds was 38%.
Report author Elisabeth Staksrud, from the University of Oslo, told BBC News that it was inevitable children would be drawn to sites such as Facebook: "If you're twelve you want to be where your peers are".
Children are children, adults are adults. Sometimes you have to say no to your child."
End QuotePeter BradleyKidscape
Parental guidance
The report also suggests that where parents do impose a strict policy on social networking, the majority of young people respect that guidance.
In France, 45% of parents said their children were forbidden from using social networking sites, the highest of any country in the survey.
Consequently, that country had the lowest proportion of children using social networking at 25%.
Peter Bradley, from child protection charity Kidscape, said it showed that parents must be firm with their children when it comes to internet use.
"Children are children, adults are adults. Sometimes you have to say no to your child," he said.
'Cop out'
However, Elisabeth Staksrud believes that by acknowledging children below the age of 13 are using services, social networking sites could develop measures to protect them.
"Since children often lie about their age to join 'forbidden' sites it would be more practical to identify younger users and to target them with easy-to-use protective measures," she said.
The report concedes that while this approach would help keep existing users safer, it could also lead to a substantial increase in underage children signing up.
Mr Bradley told the BBC he strongly believed that lowering the minimum age for Facebook would be wrong.
"Without doubt, if the age limit was removed from Facebook, the effect would be an increase in the number of young people accessing the site," he told the BBC.
"Automatically you'll have a greater increase of those at risk of bullying online.
"Abolishing the age limit is an absolute cop out really."
Results from cases heard at Birmingham Magistrates' Court are being put on Twitter by West Midlands Police.
Ch Supt Stephen Armstrong said there had been a decline in court reporting in recent years and the initiative was designed to make the public more aware of the cases police deal with.
The force is sending its own staff into court to cover the cases.
It said the updates on the micro-blogging site were the first ever "tweet-a-thon" from a justice centre.
The tweets from the Grade-I listed Victorian courthouse began on Tuesday morning. Police said it was too early to say if Tuesday's initiative would be repeated.
'Peace of mind'
Mr Armstrong said: "We've seen over recent years a bit of a decline in court reporting, particularly through local newspapers as they've faced their own financial constraints.
"That's tended to result in the general public not knowing what happens in court and what the outcomes at courts are.
"And this is our opportunity to raise that interest again and to show people there is a vast amount of police business going through courts and people are being dealt with and sentenced and punished for what they've done."
Assistant Chief Constable Garry Forsyth said: "West Midlands Police has truly embraced social media in our attempts to engage with audiences we have traditionally struggled to reach, including young people.
"Many officers across the force region now regularly update their communities via Twitter, blogs and Facebook... and we're about to launch a new Twitter account to track our police helicopter.
"We hope that the 'tweet-a-thon' from Birmingham Magistrates' Court will give people a flavour for the range of offenders we deal with, an insight into the court system and, importantly, peace of mind that justice is being done."
Internet-based attacks on critical systems such as gas, power and water have increased around the world, a report suggests.
Security firm McAfee surveyed 200 IT executives working for utility companies in 14 countries.
Eight out of 10 said their networks had been targeted by hackers during the past year.
China was seen as the most likely source of attacks, followed by Russia and the United States.
The number of reported incidents was higher than in 2009 when just over half of those asked said they had fallen victim.
Denial of service
Most of the reported security breaches took the form of distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks.
These typically involve a network of computers, under the control of criminals, overwhelming a company's internet-connected systems.
While such incidents have the potential to impact websites and corporate networks, researchers said it was unlikely they were intended to cut off energy supplies.
However, there remained a possibility that DDOS attacks could do more harm in future, according to Stewart Baker, a former US national security advisor to President George W Bush and one of the report's authors.
"We asked what what the likelihood was of a major attack that causes significant outage.
"That is one that causes severe loss of services for at least 24 hours, loss of life or personal injury or failure of a company.
"Three quarters thought it would happen within the next two years," he said.
Stuxnet
Arguably the best known example of an internet-bourne threat disrupting an industrial system is the Stuxnet worm, which was discovered in 2010.
Analysis suggests that the malicious computer code was specifically designed to take control of machinery in either Iran's Bushehr or Natanz nuclear facilities.
While it was known that the worm had spread more widely than its intended target, McAfee's research suggested the full extend of its reach.
Among those utility companies that had carried out a search for Stuxnet on their computer systems, 40% found traces of it.
"It probably didn't result in any obvious interference with the systems, because it wasn't designed to do that," said Mr Baker.
"But the fact that it spread so widely and could have done so if it had been differently designed is very, very troubling if you are worried about cyber attacks by hostile nations or extortion attempts by well organised criminal gangs."
Government help
Respondents were also questioned about how much involvement they had with their governments on tackling cyber security issues.
Japan came out on top, along with China and the United Arab Emirates, although the survey did not ask if that cooperation was voluntary or enforced.
The United Kingdom scored lowest of all those taking part in the study.
A Cabinet Office spokesman told the BBC that the situation had improved dramatically since the launch of its National Security Strategy in October 2010.
The policy document recognises cyber attacks as one of the top four national security threats facing the country.
"We have recently launched an initiative with the private sector to help develop greater awareness of the threats and better protection for dealing with them," said the spokesman.
A controversial law firm that tried to get money from computer users by accusing them of illegal file sharing could be hit with massive legal fees.
ACS:Law and its one solicitor, Andrew Crossley, sent thousands of letters threatening recipients with court action if they did not pay out.
Now a judge has ruled that the company may be responsible for wasted costs in the case and ordered a full hearing.
Mr Crossley's lawyers declined to comment.
The proceedings represent something of a role reversal. Originally the Patents County Court had been asked to hear the cases brought by Mr Crossley's firm.
After those collapsed, it was decided that he might be liable for costs.
Those could run into thousands of pounds, although that money is likely to be covered by solicitors' insurance.
Lawyer's letters
ACS:Law had originally teamed-up with a company called MediaCAT, which purported to represent copyright owners, such as film and music producers.
Together they sent letters to around 10,000 people in the UK, alleging that the IP addresses of their computers had been linked to illegal file sharing.
Individuals were given the option of paying �500 or facing court action.
Many of those contacted said they had never engaged in such activity and accused ACS:Law of carrying out a speculative "fishing" exercise.
Mr Crossley eventually brought 26 cases to court, but soon after hearings began he tried to have them dismissed, claiming he had been attacked and received death threats.
Judge Colin Birss QC refused to allow proceedings to stop and accused Mr Crossley of trying to "to avoid judicial scrutiny".
Soon after, both ACS:Law and MediaCAT were wound-up.
Profit share
It emerged in court that the two companies had agreed on a profit-sharing model, with ACS:Law receiving 65% of any money recovered.
In his most recent ruling, Mr Birss said that arrangement had "brought the legal profession into disrepute".
He also branded the now-defunct firm "amateurish and slipshod".
The court's decision to press ahead with a hearing on wasted costs was welcomed by lawyers representing those people who received ACS:Law letters.
Michael Forrester, from Ralli Solicitors, said his firm was also planning to pursue claims for harassment against Mr Crossley and urged anyone who was affected to join the action.
"It can be incredibly upsetting for people to receive these letters and they may well have a claim in harassment, so I am urging them to come forward."
Mr Crossley's application for permission to appeal was refused. He is also being investigated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
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